Capital on Tap vs Pleo (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Capital on Tap if

• Fits if you want a UK business card with free employee cards and cashback
• Works for small firms that sync card spending into Xero, QuickBooks or Sage

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you are refused credit, because the card needs approval and a credit check
• Pricey if you carry a balance: rates start at 14.13% APR (variable)
• Skip it if you want a separate expense-report tool, as expense features sit on the card
• Watch out: Pro costs £299 a year, and Avios convert at 10 points to 8 on Free against 1 to 1 on Pro
• Watch out: the page we read is the UK site; a US version is linked but was not read

Pick Pleo if

• Fits if you want every employee to have their own card with their own limit
• Works for European teams with staff spending in several countries

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want to try before paying, as there's no free plan or trial shown
• Pricey if you're 1 or 2 people, since you pay for at least 3 users
• Tight if your team spends in other currencies a lot, with a 1.75% FX fee on Build
• Watch out: direct reimbursements cost 0.90% each, and the US card is prepaid with no cash access
• Too light for paying supplier bills, which aren't among its features

Capital on Tap

• It is a credit card, so approval depends on a credit check; limits go up to £250,000 and rates start at 14.13% APR (variable).
• The UK site prices in pounds; a separate US version of the site is linked but was not read.
• Expense features are attached to the card and its app; there is no separate expense-report tool.
• Pro costs £299 a year; Avios and Virgin Points convert at 10 points to 8 on Free and 1 to 1 on Pro.

Pleo

• Card and invoice payments in another currency carry a 1.75% FX fee on Build and 1.49% on Optimise, and direct reimbursements cost 0.90% each.
• Build and Optimise need at least 3 users; no free plan or free trial is shown on the US pricing page.
• In the US the Pleo card is a prepaid Mastercard issued by Pathward, N.A., with no cash access.
• Pleo works in 16 European countries, including Denmark, the UK, Germany, France and Spain, as well as the US.

Capital on Tap

Employee and virtual cards

Free, unlimited employee cards with their own spending limits, and virtual cards that work as soon as an application is approved.

Automatic accounting sync

Transactions sync daily to Xero, QuickBooks, Sage or FreeAgent, and are sorted into categories automatically.

Receipts in the app

A receipt can be photographed and attached to its transaction in the mobile app, which also shows team spending in real time.

Spending limits and alerts

Limits can be set per transaction or per month for each team member, and the account owner gets an alert whenever a card is used.

Cashback and preloading

Cards earn 1% cashback. Preloading adds your own funds to the account to spend past the credit limit, and still earns cashback.

Team access roles

Bookkeepers, accountants and staff can be given separate access levels, such as managing credit to issue team cards.

Pleo

Company cards for each employee

Physical and virtual Pleo cards with Google Pay and Apple Pay, with individual, per-purchase and temporary spending limits.

Receipt capture

The app asks for a receipt after every card purchase, reads it with OCR, and the Fetch feature pulls online receipts from email automatically.

Out-of-pocket and mileage

Employees claim their own spending and mileage in the app, approvals follow company policy, and reimbursements are paid directly.

AI spend checks

AI spend guidelines on every plan, and AI expense reviews on Optimise (100 a month) or unlimited on Lead.

Vendor tracking

Recurring vendors and subscriptions are tracked, with renewal management and spending insights on Optimise.

Accounting exports

Auto-categorized expenses with custom categories and tags export to Xero, QuickBooks and other accounting systems.

Capital on Tap

• Free£0

  per year

  No annual fee. Uncapped 1% cashback, free employee cards, virtual cards, preloading and 24/7 support.

• Pro£299

  per year, billed annually

  Adds 1.25% on preloaded spend, a metal card, airport lounge access, a Times subscription and a 10,000-point welcome bonus.

Pleo

• Build$12

  per user / month, billed yearly ($14 billed monthly)

  For 1 to 49 employees, 3-user minimum. Physical and virtual cards, receipt capture, reimbursements, mileage, approvals and AI spend guidelines.

• Optimise$16

  per user / month, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly)

  3-user minimum. Adds cashback for eligible customers, budgets, 100 AI expense reviews a month, HR integrations, vendor insights and live chat.

• Scale$249

  per month and up

  For 50 to 1,000 employees. Adds multi-entity management, advanced card controls and approvals, assisted onboarding and a success manager.

• Lead$499

  per month and up

  Adds unlimited reimbursement users with no reimbursement fees, unlimited virtual cards and AI reviews, premium integrations and purchase orders.

• EnterpriseCustom

  For companies of 1,000 or more employees, built and priced after a call with Pleo.

Capital on Tap

• Other savings

  6 months of Xero free on the Free tier

  The Free tier lists 6 months free Xero for first-time Xero subscribers.

Pleo

• Annual discount

  Save $2 a user each month with yearly billing

  Build costs $12 per user a month billed yearly instead of $14 monthly, and Optimise $16 instead of $18.